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Paving the rural roads, 1949

Governor Kerr Scott’s 1949 secondary road bonds in Orange County: township road committees, the miles allotted to each township, and the first paving contracts.

On June 4, 1949 Orange County voters approved Governor Kerr Scott's $200 million secondary road bonds, 2,450 to 1,743, though the Hillsboro precinct voted them down. In September a mass meeting called by the Pomona Grange set up a countywide steering committee and township committees to choose the roads to be paved. The Highway Commission let the first two Orange paving contracts in October, and in December highway commissioner James A. Barnwell chose 42.9 miles for the first phase and the county commissioners endorsed ten projects totaling 39.7 miles.

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  1. Orange County votes for the state's road and school bonds About 4,100 Orange voters approved Governor Kerr Scott's $200 million secondary road bonds, 2,450 to 1,743, and the $25 million school building bonds, 3,296 to 879. The Hillsboro precinct voted the road bonds down 478 to 278, the road bonds carried in Chapel Hill by two votes, and University precinct was the only one to vote against both issues. People: Alexander H. "Sandy" Graham, John W. Umstead Jr.Search the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 9, 1949, p. 1
  2. Citizens set up township committees to choose Orange County roads for paving At a mass meeting called by the Orange County Pomona Grange, so crowded it moved from the courthouse to the high school auditorium, citizens set up a 54-member countywide steering committee and five-man township committees to pick roads for paving under the state's $200 million rural roads bonds. Highway commissioner James A. Barnwell said Orange would get $2,126,527 for about 75 miles of paving and stabilizing of its other 425 miles of unpaved roads, and John W. Umstead Jr. was elected to head the steering group. People: Garland O. Reitzel, John W. Umstead Jr.Search the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 29, 1949, p. 1
  3. First Orange County road paving contracts are let under the rural roads bond program The Highway Commission let contracts for the first two Orange County roads to be paved under the $200 million secondary roads bonds: about two miles from Cheeks Crossing to Buckhorn, and about seven miles carrying the Carrboro-University Lake road from Aubrey McLennan's farm to the Alamance County line, the latter to the Nello Teer Company.Search the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 3, 1949, p. 1
  4. County commissioners endorse ten road paving projects totaling 39.7 miles The Orange County commissioners approved ten first-priority paving projects, 39.7 miles in all, already chosen by the township committees, among them the Cole Mill Road to St. Mary's, the road from Carrboro to the Chatham line, the Antioch Church Road to the Alamance line, the airport road north past Blackwood Station and New Hope Church, and the Buckhorn-Cheeks Crossing road. They held back on the other 35 miles and reappointed Ira Ward as tax supervisor. People: Ira WardSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 8, 1949, p. 1
  5. Highway commissioner Barnwell picks 42.9 miles of Orange County roads for the first paving Fifth Division highway commissioner James A. Barnwell chose 42.9 miles of Orange County secondary roads for the first phase of paving under the $200 million bonds, about half the county's planned mileage, mostly from the township committees' lists. They included the Old Pittsboro Road from Carrboro to the Chatham line, the Mebane-Oaks Road, the Clyde Walker Road to the Durham line and parts of the Antioch Church and Jones Ferry roads, though right-of-way troubles could still drop some.Search the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 22, 1949, p. 1
  6. County commissioners approve a 76.4-mile list of rural roads for bond paving The county commissioners gave final approval to 24 stretches of rural road, 76.4 miles in all, that they recommended for paving under the state's $200 million secondary road bond program. The list ran from the Haw River road by Antioch Church and the Orange Church road by Blackwood Station to roads around Walnut Grove Church, Cedar Grove, Efland and Caldwell School.The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 9, 1950, p. 1
  7. The Highway Commission lets the contract to pave the Airport Road route toward Hillsboro Meeting in Waynesville on July 6, the State Highway Commission approved Nello L. Teer Company's low bid of $143,198.10 for 7.89 miles of grading and hard-surfacing from the Airport Road north of Chapel Hill to a point four miles southeast of Hillsboro, with Roy M. Homewood of Chapel Hill taking the bridges and culverts for $27,849. Teer also won the 1.94-mile bond project from the end of the Airport Road pavement to the Soil Road beyond McDuffie's Memorial Baptist Church, for $41,218.50.The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 13, 1950, p. 3
  8. Newly paved Orange Grove, Antioch and Jones Ferry roads open By September 1 the State Highway Commission had paved 13.8 miles of secondary road in Orange under the $200 million bond program, opening the Orange Grove Road to Orange Grove (4.9 miles), the Antioch Road west of University Lake (2.4 miles), the Jones Ferry Road from Antioch toward the Chatham line (1.8 miles) and the Cedar Grove Road from Efland toward Cedar Grove. Orange's share of the first $125 million of bonds was $931,500.The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 7, 1950, p. 1
  9. State crews pave 6.7 more miles of Orange County secondary roads in October The State Highway Commission finished 6.7 miles of new paving on Orange County secondary roads in October 1950: the Buckhorn Road from Cheek's Crossroads to Buckhorn, the Power Plant Road from US 70 to the Cole Mill Road, the Cole Mill Road from the Durham County line to the Power Plant Road, and streets in West Hillsboro. That brought the county's new hard surface under the accelerated road program to more than 20.5 miles.The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 9, 1950, p. 1
  10. The State Highway Commission takes a list of Orange County roads into the state system The county commissioners were told at a special session that the State Highway and Public Works Commission had approved adding to the state system the roads they had recommended, among them the Old Cedar Grove Road and Lake Shore Road north of Hillsboro, Oak Avenue and the Old Airport Road near Chapel Hill and Carrboro, and the Filling Station, Hickory Grove Church, Old Ridge and Meadowbrook roads in the southern part of the county.The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 21, 1950, p. 1
  11. County commissioners recommend eleven roads for the state system On March 5 the commissioners sent the Highway Commission eleven roads for state maintenance and improvement, 7.8 of the 11 miles allotted Orange for 1951. They included the Lillian Sharp road and Poteat Store road in Cedar Grove Township, Stinson Street, Valentine Lane, Dogwood Drive, Morgans Creek and Whitehead Circle and Old Mill Road in Chapel Hill Township, and the Taylor and Faircloth roads in Cheeks.The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 8, 1951, p. 1
  12. The state paves 23 miles of Orange County secondary roads in June The State Highway Commission finished hard surfacing 23 miles of Orange County secondary roads in June 1951 under the rural road bond program. They included the New Hope Church road, the Airport-New Hope road, the Mebane County Home road, the Old Pittsboro road, the Lynch Store road and the Carr-Corbitt road.The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 12, 1951, p. 1
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  1. The state paves 16 miles of Orange roads in September, including the streets of Efland The State Highway Commission finished 16 miles of new paving in Orange County in September 1951 under the secondary road bond program. The work covered the St. Mary's road, the Walnut Grove Church road, the Clyde Walker road to Caldwell School, a road from McDade to the Person line and 1.4 miles of streets in Efland.The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 11, 1951, p. 1
  2. The state paves Jones Ferry Road out to the Chatham County line In June 1952 the State Highway Commission finished 2.4 miles of new paving on Jones Ferry Road, from the end of the old hard surface to the Chatham County line. The work was paid for out of the secondary road bond program.Search the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 17, 1952, p. 1
  3. Merritt Mill Road past Lincoln High is paved Merritt Mill Road, on which Lincoln High School stands, was given a hard surface in a project that began in the second week of the 1952-53 school year and was finished in the seventh. The school paper welcomed the paving but warned that heavier and faster traffic on a road without sidewalks endangered children walking to school.Search the index · Lincoln High School student newspaper (Chapel Hill), October 1952, p. 3
  4. The state paves the Cedar Grove-Caldwell road and the Camp Hollowrock road In September 1952 the State Highway Commission finished 10.45 miles of new paving in Orange County: six miles of the Cedar Grove-Caldwell road running east to NC 57, 3.35 miles of the Camp Hollowrock road from US 15-501 to the Durham County line, and 1.1 miles of Merritt Mill Road. All three projects were paid for from the $200 million secondary road bond program.Search the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 23, 1952, p. 1
  5. State reports 77.9 miles of Orange secondary roads paved since 1948 A State Highway Commission report published in December 1952 showed that 77.9 miles of secondary roads had been paved in Orange County in the past four years, above the county's 75-mile quota under the 1949 road bond program. It also counted 14 new bridges, 41 culverts and 177.66 miles of roads stabilized in the county.The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 25, 1952, p. 1

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Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange, Orange County GIS, OpenStreetMap and a few other published sources named on each site’s page; town and community pins show approximate locations.

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Background on Growth, Land & Planning

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Widely held

Hillsborough, North Carolina History of Town Lots

Dunaway, Stewart E. · 2015 · Stewart E. Dunaway

Stewart E. Dunaway's 2015 addendum to his history of Hillsborough's town lots, adding deed records arranged by lot number and further town history, with the expansion of the 1890s covered for the first time. Self-published in North Carolina as version 1.0, 446 pages with illustrations, facsimiles and maps. Topics include deeds, court records, land titles and real property in Hillsborough.

Orange County N. C. Ejectments

2015 · Stewart E. Dunaway; Lulu

Ejectment suits were the legal route for disputing who held title to a tract of land, and the case files often include plats and drawings of the property. Stewart E. Dunaway gathered Orange County's ejectment cases from the state archives and reproduced them in facsimile, with maps, in a self-published volume issued through Lulu in 2015 (issue 2).

Chapel Hill, N.C. History of Town Lots (1790-1930s)

Dunaway, Stewart E. · 2014

Deed transcripts for the town lots of Chapel Hill and adjoining land from 1790 to the 1930s, compiled by Stewart E. Dunaway. Each transcript keeps only the working facts: grantor and grantee, price, acreage and the metes and bounds of the parcel. Self-published in 2014 as Issue 1G, 702 pages with maps and facsimiles.

Comprehensive transportation plan Orange County

Lee, Sarah (Sarah E.) · 2013 · Transportation Planning Branch, N.C. Department of Transportation

Comprehensive transportation plan for Orange County prepared by Sarah Lee for the Transportation Planning Branch of the N.C. Department of Transportation, October 2013. It covers highway planning, roads and their environmental effects, and traffic engineering, with color maps, some folded.

NC Digital Collections record courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

The library and the mission of university, 2013-2018

2013

Strategic plan for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library covering 2013 through 2018, issued by the university libraries in July 2013. A 12-page pamphlet with color illustrations. Its title ties the library's plans to the mission of the university as a whole.

The Dynamic Decade

Godschalk, David R. ; Howes, Jonathan B. · 2012

David R. Godschalk and Jonathan B. Howes describe the ten-year building program that reshaped the UNC campus in Chapel Hill, when some six million square feet in new buildings went up and a million more of historic buildings were restored. Chapters treat the campus master plan, siting and design decisions, the historic north campus, the southeast and health-sciences precincts and the planned Carolina North research campus, with contributions by chancellors James Moeser and Holden Thorp. Published by UNC Press in 2012, 175 pages.

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Farewell forever, old road to Durham : lessons from the history of transportation planning in the North Carolina Piedmont

Chilton, Mark · 2012 · Hand Made Books

Mark Chilton's short history of transportation planning in the North Carolina Piedmont, drawing lessons from earlier projects. Subjects include the Cape Fear Navigation Company and river navigation, and the railroads of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, including the State University Railroad Company whose spur brought trains to the two towns. Chilton was mayor of Carrboro when the book appeared. Published by Hand Made Books, Carrboro, 2012, 92 pages with illustrations, maps and portraits.

Mebane

Oakley, J. Ronald · 2012 · Arcadia Pub.

J. Ronald Oakley's pictorial history of Mebane, the railroad town on the Orange and Alamance county line, from Arcadia Publishing in 2012, 127 pages of photographs. Chapters cover the railroad, industries, businesses, the Depression and war years, profiles past and present, churches and civic clubs, recreation and sports, school days, and preserving the past. Topics include Mebane's history, economy, buildings and railroads.

Orange County, North Carolina

2012

A group of materials combining a county planning document with a highway map of Orange County, dated 2012. The planning piece, issued in Raleigh by a state commission, lays out a planning and management process for the county with recommendations on land development. The map, based on the statewide highway planning survey, shows roads, bridges, utilities, public property, businesses and industries across Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough; one copy carries red-pencil notes naming the county's voting precincts.

Hillsborough District Court Civil Action Concerning Land (1778-1806)

Dunaway, Stewart E. · 2011

Stewart E. Dunaway's abstracts of civil suits over land heard in the Hillsborough District Superior Court between 1778 and 1806. The district covered Orange, Wake, Granville, Caswell, Person, Chatham and Randolph counties, and the papers concern boundaries, ownership and disputed tracts. Published through Lulu in 2011, 337 pages with illustrations, maps and facsimiles.

Ejectments of Orange County, N.C

Dunaway, Stewart E. · 2010 · Stewart E. Dunaway

Stewart E. Dunaway's four-volume set of ejectment cases from Orange County, reproducing the original documents and maps from the North Carolina State Archives with partial transcriptions. The volumes cover 1778 to 1814, 1817 to 1832, 1833 to 1849 and 1850 to 1902. Ejectment suits contested title and possession of land, and the cases include surveys and plats. Self-published in 2010.

North Carolina Land Grant Entry Book ... Orange County

Dunaway, Stewart E. · 2010

Stewart E. Dunaway's two-volume edition of the Orange County land entry book, the register in which settlers first claimed vacant land from the state before a grant was surveyed and issued. Volume one covers the first thousand entries, all made in 1778; volume two runs from 1779 to 1795. Each entry is reproduced from the original in the State Archives with an abstract of its contents. Self-published through Lulu in a second version dated 2010, two volumes at 28 cm with facsimiles and maps.

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